Although LSU Coach Les Miles would not confirm junior guard Josh Williford's status Wednesday, he did say Williford has not practiced this week because of a head injury suffered against Florida two weeks ago. When asked if Williford would be available when the No. 6 Tigers play at No. 19 Texas A&M on Saturday, Miles said "I'm not certain. I can tell you he's made some progress."

But when asked if Williford had practiced, Miles said "no."

Earlier in the day Miles said he didn't know what the chances were of right tackle Alex Hurst returning. Hurst left school for what Miles has termed a personal issue and missed Saturday's victory against South Carolina.

LSU Coach Les Miles said Wednesday guard Josh Williford has not practiced this week. Rusty Costanza / The Times-Picayune

That makes it likely that redshirt freshman guard Trai Turner will make his second start at right guard, next to true freshman tackle Vadal Alexander, who has replaced Hurst.

"Both guys are improved, both have the right attitude," Miles said. "They're quality learners. They are very capable physically. They expect themselves to play well. I haven't seen tired. I enjoyed today's practice. There was a lot of energy today. That's a big piece."

Also making his second career start is freshman linebacker Lamar Louis, who had two tackles and two quarterback hurries against South Carolina.

"With reps he's doing some things we would expect him to do," Miles said. "He's a very talented guy, athletic, physical. He just needs comfort at the position and it appears to me he's getting that. He or Muncie will be the starter there. Both could play significantly."

Because of the 11 a.m. kickoff, Miles is employing a sleep doctor to prepare the team for a change in routine. The team has a 7 a.m. wake up on game day and players are using this week to prepare for that. The same doctor was used when LSU played at Washington in 2009.

"We're going to change our body clock a little bit and get used to being up early and going to bed early," Miles said. "Nutrition is a big key to this, too. We're concentrating on not-so-starchy food and heavy sugars like donuts and Snickers bars. We're into multi-grain health eating to get our blood sugar right."